China’s Maoyan Lowers Its Sights on Hong Kong IPO (Report)

Maoyan Entertainment, the Chinese ticketing giant, has reduced the scale of its IPO on the Hong Kong stock market, according to local media reports. The company now aims to raise only $250 million of fresh capital.

According to a term sheet seen by local financial media, Maoyan will sell its new stock at HK$14.80 per share. That is at the bottom end of an already wide indicative range of HK$14.80 to HK$20.40.

It means the company will only be able to raise about $250 million, compared with the $350 million maximum it indicated last week. And the sum is a long way short of the $500 million to $1 billion that the company hinted at in September when it began the IPO process.

Since then, Hong Kong’s stock market has dipped and recovered, driven in part by changing sentiment towards social media and games giant Tencent, which is a Maoyan backer. The indicated share sale price for Maoyan implies an initial valuation of $2.2 billion. That is a drop from $3 billion, when Tencent invested RMB1 billion ($148 million at current exchange rates) in the company in 2017.

Last week, Maoyan shored up its share offer by bringing in five additional core shareholders. They included Imax China and Chinese cellphone giant Xiaomi. Maoyan’s other major backers are Enlight Media, and recently listed tech group Meituan Dianping.

Maoyan claims more than 130 million monthly active users and a 60% share of the movie ticketing business in China, but has yet to turn a profit. China’s theatrical box office in January is currently running 33% below last year’s total, though the busy Chinese New Year period could change that trend.

Maoyan shares are due to begin trading on the Hong Kong exchange on Feb. 4.